PETITION CLOSED

Thank you for supporting our petition to urge the Sint Maarten government to keep organized animal fighting illegal. The final petition, with more than 4,000 signatures, will be delivered to the Governor of Sint Maarten within the next few days.

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Animal fighting is a form of animal cruelty that is outlawed in any civilized country and is illegal under the existing penal code for Sint Maarten.

The Government of Sint Maarten recently voted unanimously to introduce a new penal code in which organized animal fights including, but not limited to, cock fights will be decriminalized.

It is claimed that Cock fighting is traditional in the region and that this is sufficient justification to include a provision within the legal framework for organized animal fights. This is what this law would allow:

Cockfighters hack off the roosters' wattles and combs (the flesh at the top of their heads and under their beaks) before a fight in order to prevent other roosters from doing the mutilating themselves. The birds' natural spurs (the bony protrusions on their legs) are cut off so that cockfighters can strap on razor-sharp 2-inch steel blades, which are capable of puncturing lungs and gouging eyes. The birds are partly plucked, oiled and injected with a special mixture to harden the skin and to make them aggressive. Two birds are then placed in an enclosure where they fight to the death. The dead losers are dumped together with the severly-injured winners, also left to die.

Cock fighting is all about gambling. Huge sums of money change hands amongst the supporters of this blood sport. Spectators crowd around the ring to shout and encourage their chosen bird to kill its opponent. The bloodier the better.

However, the new provision that is proposed for the penal code for Sint Maarten is not limited to cock fighting. How long will it be before the government approves an application for an organized dogfight?

We, the general public, have a short window of opportunity to make our objections known to the Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday and Ombudsman Dr. Nilda Lynch-Arduin.

Please make your voice heard and help the concerned residents of Sint Maarten to stop this cruel and barbaric blood sport before it begins. Please sign this petition and encourage your friends to do the same.

This letter is an objection to the proposed new Penal Code, in particular to the amendment to Article 539 under which organizers of “cultural activities involving animals” are now exempt from prosecution.

The Constitution of Sint Maarten states in Article 22: "It shall be the constant concern of the Government to keep the Country habitable and to protect and improve the natural environment and the welfare of animals."

Allowing cockfighting is clearly no improvement and protection of the welfare of animals. By approving the new Penal Code and allowing cockfighting, Parliament flagrantly acts in violation of the Constitution.Organized cockfighting on Dutch St. Maarten has been prohibited in the Penal Code for years – actually since Emancipation Day – and organizing cockfighting has always been considered a criminal act.However, with the approval of the new code, even this prohibition of organizing cockfights on the Dutch side has disappeared. Therefore, instead of progressing forward as a country, Sint Maarten took a big step backwards.

We urge you to use your powers and authority to reject the new Penal Code until the provision decriminalizing “cultural activities involving animals” is removed.The Penal Code must not violate the Sint Maarten Constitution.

Sincerely,

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